Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- A six-magnum case of Domaine de la
Romanee-Conti Assortment 1990 fetched HK$541,200 ($69,400) at an
Acker Merrall & Condit sale in Hong Kong, more than 15 percent
up from last year, as demand persisted for top Burgundies.

The price at the two-day auction ending Jan. 26 compared
with a range of between $43,000 and $60,000 for similar mixed
lots of 1990 DRC sold last year, a sign of interest in a vintage
which has become the most expensive of the past three decades,
according to data from the London-based Liv-ex wine exchange.

Demand was helped by China’s New Year celebrations this
month amid signs of a recovery in fine wine demand since the
start of this year. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 Index of leading
clarets has risen 3.5 percent since Jan. 1 and is up for four
of the past six months. Investor appetite in China that drove
Bordeaux prices to record levels in mid-2011 before a price
slump has now switched increasingly to rarer Burgundies.

“The gold rush that we saw in 2010 and 2011 has tapered
off into more of a developed market,” John Kapon, Chief
Executive Officer of New York-based Acker, said in a phone
interview. “Things are still quite healthy and active.”

Other Burgundies which featured in the Acker sale included
six bottles of Domaine Dujac Echezeaux 1978, which fetched
HK$196,800, and four three-liter jeroboams of Domaine Roulot
Meursault-Perrieres spanning the years 2007 to 2010, which sold
for HK$137,760.

Chateau Petrus

Among top Bordeaux in the Acker sale, a 12-bottle case of
Chateau Petrus 1982 sold for HK$492,000 and three bottles of the
1961 vintage fetched $HK$295,200.

Two 12-bottle DRC Assortment cases from 1999 sold for
28,200 pounds ($44,600) each at Sotheby’s in London Jan. 30,
according to the auction house. A similar case traded on Liv-ex
in November at 26,400 pounds.

Other lots at Sotheby’s included a case of Chambertin 1999
Armand Rousseau and 12 bottles of more recent Chambertin Clos de
Beze 2005 Armand Rousseau, which each sold for 11,163 pounds.

Among Bordeaux wines, three cases of Chateau Haut-Brion
from its stand-out 1989 vintage went under the hammer, one for
10,340 pounds and two others for 9,988 pounds. A case of Chateau
Lafite-Rothschild 1982 sold for 23,500 pounds and 12 bottles of
Chateau Latour 1982 fetched 11,515 pounds.